Always There Until You're Gone
by Death's Inevitable Kiss
Summary: Lily had resigned herself to the fact that James would always be apart of her life whether she liked it or not. So who the heck is that blonde bimbo and why the heck is she draped over him like a human blanket? James/Lily Oneshot T for Mild Swearing


**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

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**Dedicated to Melissa Portes. Merry Christmas!**

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When Lily Evans thought of her future, she thought of a nice, two story home with the stereotypical white picket fence, an orange tabby cat named Sneezle, and the laughter of her husband and children coming from the yard. There would be a beautiful garden that would grow near a pond, a tree perfect for climbing, and a small bird house for post owls to rest in.

She'd have two children, a boy and a girl, both having her green eyes, and the perfect husband. It was a fact, she knew, that her husband would be kind, smart, considerate, and a hopeless romantic—her knight in shining armor.

In other words, Lily would not marry James frickin' Potter.

He was a prat. The biggest prat to ever walk the Earth. The biggest prat to ever punch Mother Nature in the face with his very existence.

He was conceited, volatile, a complete and utter jerk that got off on the pain and humiliation others experienced due to his inconsiderate attempts at impressing his friends and, much to her chagrin, her.

Lily Evans would much rather gauge her eyes out with a spoon than even think of a possible future with him. Just ask Marlene; the poor blonde had to stop her on more than one occasion from committing an act worthy of Azkaban.

However, despite all of this, Lily couldn't help but admire certain qualities the hazel eyed boy possessed.

She couldn't deny he was attractive. Merlin, even a blind man could tell you he was. Though he wasn't as attractive as the Blacks or Malfoys, he was still pretty high up there on the "Possibly A Sex God In Disguise" list Marlene had made two summers ago.

He also had an amazing laugh. Honestly, if Lily didn't know why it was he was laughing (it was always due to some prank of his or an obnoxious joke that was more than likely demeaning to some person), she would just swoon at the sound of it.

Not to mention his determination was extremely admirable (or was the correct term "stubbornness"?). James just didn't take "no" for an answer! Yeah, it was a pain in the neck when he wouldn't stop asking her out (even though she secretly liked the attention), but the way he acted on the Quidditch pitch, coaxing the new recruits to try harder, to train harder. He wasn't cocky then. He was just James, the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.

If that was the James that asked her out, she'd say yes with only slight hesitation.

Unfortunately, that James only existed on the pitch. Well, unfortunately for him. Because Lily didn't care. Not at all.

Still, despite everything (everything being her supposed hatred for him and her barely-there admiration), Lily resigned herself to the fact that the raven haired idiot would be a part of her life whether she liked it or not.

She didn't, however, anticipate what happened on October 30th, her seventh year.

Lily's days usually began very much the same: she'd wake up, get dressed, get harassed by a certain obnoxious prat all the way to the Great Hall, get asked out in some dramatic, over the top way during breakfast, and then she'd run off to her class or the library, hopefully escaping the deluded Gryffindor.

For that very reason was why Lily thought it odd when she had a peaceful, quiet, nuisance-less walk to the Great Hall. She considered exploring the castle with this new found silence and tranquility, but decided against it. The last thing she wanted was to run into James while she was wandering around. So, like the confident Gryffindor that she was, Lily strolled into the Great Hall with her head held high, for once unaccompanied by the "Marauders", as James and his friends called themselves.

Lily grew more and more apprehensive though. She started to wonder where he could be while she took a seat with her roommates and scooped eggs onto her plate. It was all she could do to keep herself from becoming worried. This was what she wanted, wasn't it? For James to leave her alone?

_Yes_, she told herself. _That's exactly what I want._

There was a part of her, though—the vile, disgusting part that always told her to say "yes" to James whom she had dubbed "Evil Lily"—that told her to go looking for him. He was supposed to meet her in the morning and walk her to their table. It was their thing. He would talk, she'd pretend to ignore him; he wouldn't just bail on that.

She told Evil Lily to shut up. James was perfectly fine. In fact, he was probably off preparing yet another "Big Ask".

A sense of dread overtook the redhead, and she found herself slowly sinking into herself.

_Merlin, no..._

"Hey, Lily, did ya hear me?"

"What?" she asked, straightening up and looking at one of her roommates, Mary MacDonald. They didn't talk much—they were barely acquaintances—but Lily still had the decency to be civil and show her enough respect.

"I said," the tone of exasperation Mary used in those two words alone reminded her why they never reached the "Friend" step, "'I guess you don't have to worry about James anymore.'"

"What are you talking about?" That sounded way too alarmed, even to her own ears.

Mary giggled, twisting her short, brown locks between her fingers. "Look," she snickered, pointing a clawed finger towards the Great Hall's entrance.

There, a short, blonde Hufflepuff draped on his arm, was James frickin' Potter. They were talking, laughing even. What was worse was that they were walking...right towards her...the rest of the Marauders in tow.

"I guess your prayers have been answered, huh?" Mary commented, nudging her playfully. Suddenly, Lily didn't feel like being civil anymore. No, she felt like yelling, _screaming_, at the sly girl next to her.

Right when she opened her mouth to tell her to go away, Lily heard the last voice she ever wanted to hear. "Mornin', Evans."

Evans.

_Evans._

He had to be kidding!

Forcing the most dazzling smile she could, Lily turned to him and his human blanket. "Potter. Who's your friend?" _That way I know who to poison_, Evil Lily snarled.

"This is Blaire. She's my girlf—" James started before quickly being interrupted by the girl, _Blaire_.

"Hi, Lily. I've heard a lot about you (—this made her feel a lot better; James was still talking about her!—) from Remus._"_

And there went all hope.

_Hope of what? You hate him!_ she chided.

_Speak for yourself,_ Evil Lily cut in.

"It's nice to meet you, Blaire," Lily said. She tried to ignore the pain of what James almost said ("girlfriend") and quickly turned around, jumping into the conversation her friends were having.

It was about Hogsmeade.

_Great._

"_So, _Frank _finally_ asked me out!" Alice gushed happily. "I mean, I was just so relieved. I thought he didn't like me!"

"Please, honey," Marlene scoffed, "anyone could tell he had the hots for you."

"Yeah. You guys are so oblivious, it's pathetic," Mary sneered. Alice looked hurt by that comment; the two had abandoned civility long ago, each never passing up the opportunity to express their disdain for the other.

"I think they're cute," Lily said, sending a smile to her pixie haired friend. Alice returned it gratefully before Marlene engaged her in a conversation on the importance of color coordination and how it can be executed to increase one's sex appeal and, inadvertently, drive the intended target mad.

"Blue. Blue is so your color," the blond gushed.

Lily, not being one to talk of fashion and make up, stared at her plate, poking at the eggs idly. Food didn't seems so appetizing with James and _Blaire_ giggling and laughing a few seats over.

"So, did anyone ask you to Hogsmeade, Lils?" Mary asked coyly, a Cheshire grin appearing on her thin lips.

"Oh, um, yeah," Lily stuttered, her cheeks flushing a light pink as she suddenly became aware of the silence from two specific people. "Er, Diggory asked me."

"Amos Diggory asked you!" Mary shrieked. "You said yes, yes?"

"Uh, I said I'd think about it..."

"What? Why?"

She shrugged, popping a small piece of egg into her mouth. "Dunno."

"Oi, Prongs. Didn't you run into Diggory snogging some fifth year on your rounds last night?" Sirius Black, James' best mate, questioned rather loudly.

"Yeah, Padfoot, I did. He was practically swallowing the girl's tongue, it was so disgusting," James exclaimed.

Lily's grip on her fork tightened. They were saying that on purpose. It was so blatantly obvious. _Some Head Boy_, she thought darkly. When the redhead had first learned that she would be forced to go on rounds with James, she had been furious, but, as Head Girl, she was required to do it. So, sucking in her loathing, she had endured it. Except, last night, Lily hadn't been able to patrol the corridors due to some last minute homework.

_Figures that they'd use that as ammo_, she scowled. _The one time I decide to put an assignment off, and they suddenly discover my could-be date in a compromising situation. _

"Poor girl," Sirius barked a laugh, "doesn't know the bloke's got a wandering tongue. What did she make? Number six this week?"

Mary, who had been soaking in this new piece of gossip like a sponge, suddenly turned to Lily. "So, are ya still goin' out with him? I mean, you could always ignore James and Sirius and be lucky number seven," she giggled.

Within a second, Lily was up and walking out of the Great Hall. She wanted to punch Mary. She wanted to brutally bludgeon Sirius. She wanted to hex Blaire even though the girl didn't even _do _anything. But, most of all, she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.

She hated that. She wanted to cry. For James. For not having the prat ask her out. For finally getting what she wanted and having him leave her alone. For him _moving on_.

Worst of all, she wanted to cry because she was such a bitch.

Here she was, Little Miss _Perfect_, crying because the boy who she loved turning down, who she loved seeing look so disappointed every time she crushed his dream of going out with, had finally realized she wasn't worth it.

It hurt even though she had no right to _be_ hurt.

Fuck, she was a bitch.

Taking a deep breath, she plastered on a smile and made her way to the dungeons. She had potions with Hufflepuff. Just another amazing thing to add to her day.

Normally, Lily loved potions. However, the next two weeks of it was Hell for her. Not because Slughorn was being nasty (no, he loved her too much to be anything but kind and caring), but because every time she so much as glanced away from her cauldron, there would be a loud uproar of giggles and laughter from Ja—_Potter's _table where he and Blaire were working.

It wasn't until November fifteenth, though, that anything happened.

The class was assigned a set of ingredients. They had to make a potion out of those. They weren't allowed a book, nor were they forced to use all of the ingredients. Lily, who had been working diligently, had become distracted by the interactions between a certain bespectacled boy and his blonde bimbo.

She would whisper in his ear every once in a while, and then he'd laugh, smile, _wink_. It was infuriating her. She kept telling herself that she shouldn't care. She didn't like him. He could do whatever he wanted to do.

Unfortunately, Evil Lily had gotten quite restless lately.

It just so happened that, as Blaire had gotten up to speak to Slughorn, the Gryffindor had added one too many eye of newt to her cauldron. Thus, as the Hufflepuff passed her table, the concoction decided to explode. All. Over. Blaire.

Blaire let out a screech as the potion landed on her, her skin erupted in revolting green scales.

"I'm so sorry!" Lily screamed, rushing over to the girl."I-I didn't mean to...it was an accident!"

"Miss Evans, escort Miss Vandever to the Hospital Wing immediately," Slughorn commanded as he scurried about, cleaning up the mess she had accidentally created.

"Yes, sir," Lily replied as she grabbed the blonde's hand and practically dragged her out of the room. The whole walk was spent with Blaire moaning in pain and Lily apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry!" she called before she was sent out of the room by Madam Pomfrey.

Hours later, Lily found herself pacing the length of the corridor. She couldn't decided on how she felt about the whole thing. On one side, she was extremely sorry and couldn't help but feel extremely guilty. On the other, well, Evil Lily was laughing it up.

That made it worse.

The exploding potion was an accident, but she was actually _glad_ that it had happened.

Damn, she was such a bitch.

"You're still here?"

Lily looked up, her emerald eyes locking with curious blue ones. "I'm so sorry, Blaire," she breathed as she rushed over to her.

"Yeah. You said that," she said in amusement.

"No, no. That's not what I meant," she sighed. "I'm sorry about that, yeah, but not just that."

"What d'ya mean?" the blonde asked, glancing at something behind the redhead before turning her full attention to her.

"This past week—well, actually, two weeks—I've been really out of it. I've been cursing you in my head, imagining you in unfortunate accidents; just being a plain bitch, really."

"Oh, uh, that's..."

"No, let me finish," Lily cut in. "It's not even that I don't like you. I mean, I don't know if I like you, really; I've never actually _talked_ to you. It's just that, when I saw you with James...Merlin. I didn't even know. I was just really upset and angry. And, today, when my potion exploded, for a moment, I was actually _happy_."

"Yeah, look, Lil—"

"No, no! There's still more," the redhead insisted. "Look, I'm sorry. I have no right to hate you. I made my choice—hundreds of times actually—and I have no claim on James. You're dating him, and I accept that. I'm really sorry for what happened today. I promise, as Head Girl, it'll never happen again."

"Lily!" Blaire exclaimed as said girl went to continue. "It's okay," she laughed.

"What?"

"I said it's okay. James and I aren't together."

"...what?"

"Actually, I'm dating Remus."

"...wha'?"

"James was just moping around and Sirius said he should just try to make you jealous," Blaire said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "And, since I'm the only female friend of the Marauders at the moment, and no one knows about Rem and I's relationship, we thought, what the hell? So, James and I just, ya know, acted all cozy and such."

"..."

"I should be the one apologizing," the Hufflepuff finished. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to hold out for so long. Actually, Sirius and I had a bet that you'd hex me by the third day—I lost five galleons 'cause of that, ya know—and James was actually starting to believe that he had no chance with you. Well, until now, that is."

"What are you...?"

"I'll leave you love birds alone," Blaire smirked before skipping off.

"'Love birds'...?" the redhead muttered, confused.

"Lily."

_Oh._

"Potter," Lily said, turning around. Merlin, he had that smile on. The one he got when he thought he actually had a cha—_fuck_. "It's not nice to eavesdrop."

"So, Hogsmeade this weekend?" he asked happily.

"I'm busy this weekend," she said, crossing her arms as she pursed her lips to keep herself from smiling. This. This was their thing.

"Next weekend then." He continued to smile.

"I'm busy then too."

"Then the week after that."

"Busy."

"How about now?"

"B—wait, _now_? It's almost curfew," Lily said incredulously.

"We won't get caught," James smirked.

"You're mad."

"Maybe," he grinned, grabbing her hand and tugging her away from the Hospital Wing.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked, rolling her eyes.

"Hogsmeade."

"We won't get out of the castle this way!"

"I have my ways," James laughed, running a hand through his untidy hair, the grin never falling from his lips.

"What makes you think I'll actually go with you, anyway?" Lily challenged but made no move to leave. Inside, Evil Lily was currently holding Normal Lily down and handcuffing her to a pole. This was her time. Yeah, she was still gonna hex the crap out of James for his stupid jealousy thing, but, for now, she'd give the bloke a chance.

And maybe another if it went well.

And another after that.

Yeah, that sounded fair, Lily grinned, hurrying to keep up with James' long strides.

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**Yay, cheesy happy ending! :D**


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